Notice2023-10559
Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Museum of the Rockies (MOR) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Yellowstone, Big Horn, and Carbon Counties, MT.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31819-31820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10559]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035864; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman,
MT
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Museum of the Rockies (MOR) has completed an
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human
remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native
Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated
funerary objects were removed from Yellowstone, Big Horn, and Carbon
Counties, MT.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 20, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Melissa Dawn, Cultural History Registrar and Collections
Manager, Museum of the Rockies, P.O. Box 172720, 600 W. Kagy Blvd.,
Bozeman, MT 59717, telephone (406) 994-2242, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#066b636a6f7575672862677168466b69687267686728636273"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="177a727b7e6464763973766079577a78796376797639727362">[email protected]</span></a> and Eric Metz, Paleontology Collections
Manager--Registrar, Museum of the Rockies, P.O. Box 172720, 600 W. Kagy
Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59717, telephone (406) 994-6578, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#284d5a414b06454d5c52684547465c494649064d4c5d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f095829993de9d95848ab09d9f9e84919e91de959485">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of Museum
of the Rockies. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation,
can be found in the inventory or related records held by Museum of the
Rockies.
Description
In 1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from Yellowstone County, MT, by Joseph L. Cramer. In 1991,
these human remains were donated to the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) by
Joseph L. Cramer. The decedent, possibly a smallpox victim, had been
placed in wide crack in the earth and burned. The human remains--skull
fragments--possibly belong to a female). The 26 associated funerary
objects are 24 glass trade beads, one copper trade button, and one
copper wire (possibly an earring).
On April 3, 1938, 94 funerary objects were removed from a grave in
small cave shelter five or six miles west of the Big Horn River and
approximately six miles northwest of Hardin, in Big Horn County, MT, by
Oscar T. Lewis. The grave had already been excavated and was presumed
to belong to a Crow individual. In 1991, these funerary objects were
donated to MOR by Joseph L. Cramer. No human remains are present. The
94 funerary objects are 24 glass trade beads, 10 copper trade beads,
nine copper rolls (seven rolls and two parts), and 51 cowrie shell
beads (38 complete shells and 13 small beads).
At an unknown date, 86 funerary objects were removed from Lodge
Grass in Big Horn County, MT. These funerary objects were purchased by
Joseph L. Cramer in 1955, and in 1991, Cramer donated them to MOR.
Cramer surmised that these objects were found in a historic Crow burial
by a Crow Indian, were removed and restrung, and then were sold to a
filling station owner at Lodge Grass. No human remains are present. The
86 funerary objects are trade beads from a necklace.
Around 1953, 25 funerary objects were removed from Big Horn County,
MT. These funerary objects were found by Art Becker of Billings, MT,
eroding from a historic Crow Indian burial located at the head of
Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of Hay Creek. In 1957, the funerary
objects were gifted to Joseph L. Cramer, and in 1991, Cramer donated
them to MOR. No human remains are present. The 25 funerary objects are
brass, glass, shell, and bone beads.
Sometime during the 1940s-1950s, 87 funerary objects were removed
from the Crow Indian Reservation in Big Horn County, MT. These funerary
objects were found by Roy Marsh of Pryor, MT, eroding from Crow Indian
burials and surface collected by him. On November 6, 1958, the funerary
objects were gifted to Joseph L. Cramer, and in 1991, Cramer donated
them to MOR. No human remains are present. The 87 funerary objects are
glass and brass trade beads.
In 1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from a mesa in Carbon County, MT, by Joseph L. Cramer. The
mesa, located 1.5 miles southeast of Joliet Town, is the divide between
Rock Creek & Elbow Creek. In 1991, Cramer donated these human remains
to MOR. The human remains--three skull fragments, one femur fragment,
one metatarsal, six phalanges, and six teeth--belong to an individual
of unknown age and sex. The 24 associated funerary objects are 22 glass
and shell beads strung between two buttons.
In 1953, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from the south rim of a mesa in Carbon County, MT, by
Joseph L. Cramer. This area, situated between Rock Creek & Elbow Creek,
1.5 miles southeast of Joliet Town, contains Crow crevice burials. In
1991, Cramer donated these human remains to MOR. The human remains--one
metatarsal and one possibly burned bone--belong to an individual of
unknown age and sex. The 69 associated funerary objects are glass and
bone beads.
At an unknown date, nine funerary objects were removed from the
base of the north rim of a small tributary 1\1/4\ miles west of Pryor
Creek channel, in Yellowstone County, MT, by Oscar T. Lewis. In 1991,
these funerary objects were donated to MOR by Joseph L. Cramer. No
human remains are present. The nine associated funerary objects are
eight perforated elk teeth and one lot comprised of several hundred
seed beads.
Cultural Affiliation
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes,
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the
relationship: archeological, geographical, and historical.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, Museum of the Rockies has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 420 objects described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed with or near individual
[[Page 31820]]
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite
or ceremony.
<bullet> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Crow Tribe of Montana.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice.
2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 20, 2023. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, Museum of the Rockies
must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation.
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing
requests. Museum of the Rockies is responsible for sending a copy of
this notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10,
and 10.14.
Dated: May 10, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-10559 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 18, 2023.
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